Rep. Joe Miller Introduces Legislation to Combat AI Deepfake Election Fraud

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Joe Miller (D-Amherst) today introduced a bill to prohibit deepfake election fraud in Ohio to address the challenges already posed by AI-generated misinformation during election season. AI-generated deepfake audio and video is being used as a powerful tool to fuel the current climate of election distrust and a policy solution is needed to combat this serious issue. 

“We need to get ahead of this issue, and ensure that AI is used ethically, not only in business but in the political space. There is a lot of potential for misuse by bad actors,” said Rep. Miller.

The Federal Communications Commission thursday ruled in favor of blocking AI-generated voices in robocalls following fake robocalls orchestrated during the New Hampshire presidential primary resembling President Joe Biden encouraging residents not to vote. This is not an isolated event as other states have already acted on this issue. For example, Texas election code now addresses deepfake videos, as well as state code changes from Washington state, Minnesota, Michigan, and California. This legislation will work to safeguard the integrity of our elections and promote an informed electorate that will make the best decisions for themselves with the use of trustworthy media.